Two types of videocassette cases or holders are currently employed. Neither is particularly satisfactory.
One of these presently available videocassette cases is the ubiquitous book type. Although videocassette cases of this type have been thermoformed, they are most often manufactured from a hard, opague, synthetic polymer (typically a polypropylene) by injection molding. This type of videocassette case has the disadvantage of being too expensive to be practical in many instances. In addition, it commonly has the drawback that the case must be opened if one wishes to review the information on the label commonly attached to the cassette, especially if the cassette has been prerecorded. Furthermore, it is difficult to form a stable stack of book-type videocassette cases for transport or storage.
Sleeve-type, plastic and cardboard videocassette holders lack durability. In addition, cardboard sleeves rapidly become shopworn and are easily stained and otherwise soiled, which is of course a significant disadvantage, particularly in applications such as videocassette rentals, for example. In addition, both plastic and cardboard, sleeve-type videocassette holders have the disadvantage that the cassette must be removed from the sleeve to review the information on a videocassette label. And, like book-type videocassette cases, both plastic and cardboard sleeves have the disadvantage that they cannot be conveniently stacked in a stable manner for transport and storage. Furthermore, the encased cassette is not protected from dust or other foreign matter.